Nick, why does a man earning hundreds of millions of dollars in salary, endorsements, jersey sales, etc. find it difficult to return to a team in an area where lots of his countrymen would find no difficulty leaving?

Because this is about more than money. This is about more than being “fit” for a possible World Cup run. This is about more than playing with a far higher quality of player. This is *all* about refusing to put up with Leiweke’s intimidation, dishonesty and irresponsibility, which he expressed partially through Lalas, partially through himself and has destroyed team morale. Why do you think Donovan wants to leave…and he doesn’t have any of the responsibilities that Beckham ostensibly took on when he came here (such as helping the sport grow and being an “ambassador” for MLS)?

Obviously, we now know that the whole “ambassador” business was nothing but P.R. bilge. Then again, why would Beckham want to be an “ambassador” for a team run by somebody whose arrogance is inversely proportional to his professionalism and competence?

Beckham and Donovan are the only people on the Galaxy with the wherewithal to improve their situations. If you were them, what would you do?

mbar

Then Becks should ask AC Milan to offer more then $3m measly dollars for him.

That’s about 1/5th of the minimum amount that will make this transfer happen.

Anon

If Steve Goff of the Washington Post is right and AC Milan actually offered only $3 million, then Beckham has to wonder if they really want him over there either. That’s equivalent to buying his jersey licensing deal on the cheap and getting the player thrown in as an extra.

Inigo Montoya

So sad that it’s “difficult.”

It was difficult to have you injured and unavailable your first year, when we didn’t make the playoffs.

It was difficult to watch you have virtually no impact on the team during 2008. And we had the worst record in the league.

Maybe you could give us all our money back. Or would that be difficult?

Or if you want to play in Milan that bad, why not make up the additional $5 million out of your own pocket? I’m sure you could make it up in Italian fashion designer endorsements.

Dr. Death

Joseph,

Your hate for AEG and Leiweke takes over your brain sometimes. It gets old and you don’t always see the broader picture. Pure and simple, Beckham wants to leave because he sees that his international career, and possibility of playing in the World Cup, have been revived. Why do you think he left Europe in the first place? Because Steve McClaren essentially said that Beckham’s career with England was over. Given this, Beckham saw no need to continue playing at the “highest level” if he had no chance of playing for England. And then with what Capello did to him by benching him at Real Madrid over a period of several weeks, Beckham surely figure this was the right time to leave Europe. Things have changed — Capello of all people says he has a place and he’s made it clear his chances are better if he is playing in europe. If Beckham was at Red Bulls or any other MLS team, things would be playing out exactly the same way. And Donovan wants to leave because he is 26 and if he is ever going to make a move to Europe and try to quiet the skeptics who say he can’t make it in Europe, this is the time. Again, Donovan’s wanting to leave wouldn’t change if he was on another MLS team.

Your attempts to make every point an anti-Galaxy, anti-Leiweke thing are getting tiresome.

Joseph D’Hippolito

Dr. Death, Donovan said in a USA Today interview in 2005 that he never wanted to return to Europe after his experiences with Bayer Leverkusen, that he wanted to stay in the U.S. Now, the man has the perogative to change his mind. Still, “never” is a long time….

Besides, I can tell you from personal experience that Leiweke accused Beckham of forcing Ruud Gullit out and that, as a result, Terry Byrne would no longer be an “unofficial adviser” for the Galaxy. When asked about this by SI’s Grant Wahl, Beckham refused comment.
Now, if Beckham actually pushed Gullit out, why wouldn’t Gullit say so in his subsequent interviews after his “resignation”?

BTW, Dr. Death, do you work for the Galaxy?

Dr. Death

Joseph,

Donovan might have said that back in 2005 when he was 23 years old — fine — that may have been his sentiment at the time — so a 23 year old can’t change his mind? I had no idea what the hell I was doing with myself when I was 23. He has heard for the last 3 or 4 years that he was a failure in Europe and can’t hack it there. Don’t tell me that for someone who is considered by many to be America’s best ever player, that hearing those things didn’t bother him. Sure, his time with Bayer Leverkusen left a sour taste in his mouth. With all due respect to Leverkusen, it is not Bayern Munich. He may very well have never gone back to the Europe but for the unique opportunity with Bayern Munich, where there is a coach who is familiar with Donovan, his talents, and “the American player” in general and who won’t take the knee-jerk reaction of “benching/blaming the American” after the team loses a game or two, as many a European coach has a penchant for doing. He has a coach at a top-flight Euro club who seems to be giving him a fair chance to show himself. Why would he turn that opportunity down?

Not sure about your point on Gullit leaving and it’s impact on the current Beckham situation. Are you saying Leiweke falsely accused Beckham and his people of forcing Gullit out and Beckham is pissed about this? If you know this for a fact, fine. However, I think this is small potatos in the whole scheme of things on why Beckhman wants to leave. If the guy had zero chance of playing for England again, none of this would be happening. Beckham was willing to fly all the way to Croatia for a measly 5 minutes of playing time. That should tell you how much playing for England means to him.

Do I work for the Galaxy? That has to be the funniest thing I’ve heard in my life — no, I do not work for the Galaxy. Mbar (who posted above) knows who I am. Mbar knows that I have no great love for AEG/Leiweke (for instance, having attended the season ticket holder event this past season, I thought it was completely chicken s**t that Leiweke failed to stay around for the Q&A session — in fact, I complained loud and clear to the “Galaxy Ambassadors” about this). I am a passionate Galaxy fan who attended the very first game in 1996 and got season seats when they moved to the HDC. I don’t mind objective and fair-minded criticism of the Galaxy, AEG, Leiweke — they certainly deserve their share. But every posting of yours comes off like Leiweke or someone at AEG murdered your family. You seem to forget that without AEG’s deep pocket and Anschutz’s willingness to lose hundreds of millions of dollars on this venture, MLS would be nowhere. I just think that you need to broaden your analysis of things other than to say only “Leiweke/AEG is dishonest/stupid/irresponsible”. You’ve got this X-Files/conspiracy vibe to your postings that makes you come off as less than credible sometimes.

Joseph D’Hippolito

Dr. Death, regarding Gullit/Leiweke/Beckham, let me say this:

Sports Illustrated’s Grant Wahl posed the question to Beckham at an inpromptu press conference in October at HDC concerning his possible loan to Milan. Wahl said that Leiweke told him (for a book Wahl is writing about Beckham’s tenure here) that Beckham or his people “pushed” Gullit out and that, in retaliation, Leiweke dumped Terry Byrne as an unofficial advisor to the Galaxy.

I know this because am a free-lance writer and I’ve covered the Galaxy since 1996 for various outlets.

Do Beckham and his people have that kind of power? Possibly. But if Beckham did push out Gullit, why wouldn’t Gullit say so? After all, Gullit has been interviewed numerous times in the European press, so he had ample opportunity to say that. Besides, Gullit has no need to remain loyal to the Galaxy; his chances of getting another MLS job are minimal, at best.

I bring up this incident because it fits Leiweke’s MO of throwing people under the bus publicly and refusing to take responsibility for anything. You saw the latter yourself when he refused to stay for the Q-and-A session.

Leiweke thinks he’s the master player. Trouble is, he’s being played by people who are far more experienced at it than he is. Why do you think he resorts to public bluster when he doesn’t get his way? He has to retain control at all times, even with his prize soccer possession.

If you want to know why I feel about Leiweke the way I do, tell Nick to send you my e-mail address. You can then e-mail me and I’ll explain the whole thing.

I can tell you this: One of Leiweke’s minions, a member of Galaxy public relations, tried to murder my professional integrity two years ago. He knows who he is; he reads this blog frequently.

Dr. Death

Joseph,

Thanks for confirming that you have a major ax to grind with Leiweke, AEG, etc. If that’s the point of your posts, so be it. But then don’t try to pretend that you are analyzing anything objectively.

Meta

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